Hi strangers! Here is my slightly belated Me-Made-May ’15 recap!
I sort of half assedly participated in this year’s Me-Made-May. So half assedly, that I never even really announced that I was doing it. So the least I can do is a little recap!
In case you don’t know what Me-Made-May is, it’s something Zoe from the blog So Zo’ What Do You Know came up with several years ago, that has gained a lot of traction with the online sewing community. The idea is that you pledge to wear items you made yourself for the month of May. Many pledge to wear something handmade everyday, but the amount and frequency is up to you. Since I haven’t made a month’s worth of clothes yet, I pledged to wear something handmade twice a week.
May was a super busy month for me. I was traveling a lot and I started a new job (more on that later) and it got really hot weather-wise. Between all of those things, I did the best I could. I also wanted to get shots of me actually wearing my handmade clothes out and in public as much as possible, since that is a true test of how wearable something is.
Here’s how I did and what I learned-
Week 1
Sunday– Wore my “Kentucky Derby” Moneta dress in Austin, TX.
I wore this the day after the actual Kentucky Derby, mind you. Do I get extra points for that? I would have worn it the day before, but I was in a wedding, so that wouldn’t have really been appropriate. I love love love this dress. I would wear it every day if I could and plan on making tons more.
Week 2
Saturday– Wore my Colette Violet Blouse and my Jennifer Lauren Cressida Skirt out to a lovely brunch with my sister, for her birthday, on Alki Beach.
Sunday– Wore my Colette Truffle dress.
I hadn’t worn this dress in ages, because I wasn’t that crazy about it. It wasn’t because of the fit or anything, I just could never figure out how to wear it. It’s such a bold print, that it can easily look way too over the top. I styled it with a jean jacket and some cowboy boots that day and was actually quite pleased with how this outfit turned out.
Week 3
Sunday– Wore my Victory Patterns Ava Dress in Leavenworth, WA with the fam.
I had to wear my “Heidi” hair. It seemed appropriate.
Monday– Wore my pink striped Sewaholic Renfrew top while hiking in Leavenworth.
Week 4
Saturday– Wore my Colette Crepe dress.
I actually wore this to my nephew’s 2nd birthday party that day, but never got around to getting a picture. This photo was taken later that evening when we were back home. Matt actually likes it when I play my ukelele around the firepit and often requests it. I hadn’t worn this dress in awhile either and wearing it that day made me realize that I actually do like this dress!
Sunday– Wore my Colette Patterns Meringue Skirt to a bbq that my friends Coleen and Jason hosted. They not only only had a house full of people, but they smoked 40 lbs. of (pretty much every kind of) meat and they did this just two weeks after having a baby. Ask me how that is possible? I do not know. They are amazing.
Me-Made-May was such a good exercise for me and I’m glad I did it. A few of these outfits have already gotten a lot of wear, but many of them were early makes that I didn’t think much of. Me-Made-May forced me to revisit these items and by styling them a bit differently, or just giving them another chance, I found I liked them more than I thought. It also further solidified what I really like to wear (knits, comfortable clothes) and what gaps I have in my wardrobe (tops, casual wear). Looking through these pics is fun too. May was a fun month for me, full of travel, family and fun outings, so it was a good, yet challenging, month for me to strut my handmade items!
Thanks Zoe for coming up with and hosting Me-Made-May and for making it fun and accessible to sewers of every level. I will definitely be participating again next year!